U.S. Officials Hold Out Hope for Copenhagen Accord

Senior Obama administration officials Tuesday acknowledged climate negotiations in Copenhagen were in “a difficult state” and clashes over verification of emission reductions and other fundamental issues could stymie a final agreement.

But the senior administration officials, who spoke in an press briefing on condition of anonymity, said they continued to have “very constructive” dialogue with their counterparts from China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and a linchpin for a successful conference.

“It’s fair to say that [negotiations] have been going in a pretty bumpy fashion and are often difficult,” said one of the officials. He added, however, such an impasse isn’t unusual in major discussions and is often followed by consensus. …